Annual Report 2006Table 16.2: Total area of permanent forest reserves, including the proposed gazettement and excisionClassClass IClass IIClass IIIClass IVClass VClass VIClass VIIType of ForestReserveProtection ForestCommercial ForestDomestic ForestAmenity ForestMangrove ForestVirgin Jungle ReserveWildlife ReserveCurrent total area(ha)342,8482,683,4807,35521,092315,87491,914132,653Proposals ofgazettement (Ha)3,427.92--8.05-134.7-Total area after approval ofproposal (ha)346,275.922,683,4807,35521,100.05315,87492,048.7132,653Total 3,595,216 3,570.67 3,598,786.67Based on the above proposals, the total area of PermanentForest Reserves in the State will increase from 3,595,216hectares to 3,598,786.67 hectares. The changes involveseveral classes of FRs as per Table 16.2.Interagency forest sectoral coordinationThe Forest Sector Coordination Meeting between the NaturalResources Office and the <strong>Forestry</strong> <strong>Department</strong> continued asone of the important meeting to address policies and issuesaffecting forestry in the state. The State’s Lands and Surveys<strong>Department</strong> is also an important member in the committee.In the reporting year 2006, two (2) meetings were held.The meetings dwelt on matters concerning the proposedgazettement of forest reserves and land related issues. Bothmeetings were chaired by Tn. Hj. Nordin Siman, the newSecretary of Natural Resources Office.Group Photo of members who attended the Forest Sector Coordination Meeting between the Natural Resources Office and the<strong>Forestry</strong> <strong>Department</strong> at SFI Motel, Sipitang, 28 th July 2006Clockwise from left: The 30m FireManagement Tower with a cost ofRM350,000 which was funded under the8 th Malaysia Plan; visit to Muaya WaterfallRecreation Site and Forest Restoration atMesapol Forest Reserve, Sipitang; ForestSector Coordination Meeting in sessionat the SFI Motel; and Launching of theSipitang Fire Management Tower byTn. Hj. Nordin Siman, the Secretary ofNatural Resources and witnessed by theDirector of <strong>Forestry</strong> on the 27 th July 2006in conjunction with the Forest SectorCoordination Meeting in Sipitang.84
Forest Sector PlanningInput to State Legislative Assembly and ParliamentThe Division had coordinated and provided the department’sinputs to address various questions raised in the StateLegislative Assembly and Parliament. Relevant questions thatwere raised in 2006, are related to issues as follows:-• Encroachment into FRs;• Community settlements in SFI concession and FRs;• The effectiveness of Forest Enforcement;• Total area and impact of loggings in Yayasan <strong>Sabah</strong>concession; and• Total amount of royalties received and collected fromYayasan <strong>Sabah</strong>Sustainable Forest Management (SFM) ManagementCommitteesThis division is also actively involved in the managementcommittees for the following Forest Management Units (FMU) orForest Reserves that are placed under the direct managementof the <strong>Forestry</strong> <strong>Department</strong> as follows:i. Tangkulap-Pinangah FR (FMU 17 or Greater Deramakot);ii. Kalabakan-Sapulut FR (FMU 25);iii. Ulu-Segama & Malua FR ;iv. Ulu Kalumpang FR; andv. Tabin Wildlife FRIn the management committees, this division was tasked onthe following areas of work:-i. High Conservation Value Forest (HCVF) Development;ii. Certification with WWF (World Wildlife Fund);iii. Carbon Sequestration Project Development;iv. Fund raising for the conservation project (eg. HSBC);v. International collaboration / cooperation; andvi. Proposed SFD-UNESCO GRASP Roundtable MeetingInternational AffairFostering Regional Cooperation and CollaborationRegional InitiativesKey regional initiatives, in which the department is activelyinvolved in the reporting year is the Heart of Borneo (HoB). Asa follow up to the recommendations made in the workshop inBrunei Darussalam in 2005, several meetings and workshopswere held at the National and State levels as follows:-• Heart of Borneo (HoB) State Level Workshop – <strong>Sabah</strong> (inpreparation for Malaysia Expert Group Meeting), PacificSutera, Kota Kinabalu, 07 th September 2006• Mesyuarat Kumpulan Kerja Teknikal MembincangkanInitiatif Heart of Borneo Peringkat Negeri, 13 th September2006, Pejabat Hasil Bumi• Mesyuarat Kumpulan Kerja Pakar Membincangkan InisiatifHeart of Borneo, 21 st -22 nd September 2006, WilayahPersekutuan Labuan• Heart of Borneo Tri-National Meeting in Cebu, Philipines,24 th November 2006• Mesyuarat Membincangkan Deklarasi Heart of Borneo inJakarta, Indonesia on 04 th Dicember 2006• Majlis Menandantangani Deklarasi Heart of Borneo, 12 thFebruary 2007, IndonesiaThrough these meetings and workshops, the department hadcontributed on the following:-1. Drafting of the Tri-National Declaration;2. Proposed boundary of the HoB Area for <strong>Sabah</strong> in which atotal area of 4,000,674 ha was identified during the HoBState Level Workshop;3. Identification of the areas of interest;4. Inputs during the Experts Technical Working Meeting and;5. Preparation of a Cabinet Paper.Apart from the HoB initiative, the department had also attendedseveral regional meetings as follows:-1. The Preparatory Meeting for the 11 th Ministerial Meeting2. 1 st Chief Ministers’ & Governors’ Forum3. 14 th Senior Officers’ Meeting4. 3 rd BIMP-EAGA Summit on the 22 nd Nov 2006 in KotaKinabalu5. 11 th SOSEK MALINDO Conference on the 20 th -21 st July2007, Kuala Lumpur.European Union-Forest Law Enforcement, Governanceand Trade (EU-FLEGT)The EU-FLEGT Initiative sets out an action plan to addressthe problem of illegal logging and the trade of associatedillegal timber products. A key element in the action plan inis the proposal to establish bilateral Voluntary PartnershipAgreements (VPA) between EC and timber producing countriesin order to ensure that only legally sourced timber products areimported into the EU. The Action Plans focus on seven broadareas;• Support to timber-producing countries;• Activities to promote trade in legal timber;• Promoting trade in legal timber;• Promoting public procurement policies;• Support for private sector initiatives;• Safeguards for financing and investment;• Use of existing legislation instruments or adoption of newlegislation to support the Plan;In pursuance of this Initiative, Malaysia and the EC had engagedin several informal discussion until September 2006, whereboth formally announced the initiation of the negotiations.Throughout 2006, the department has facilitated andcontributed inputs for the preparation of the EU-FLEGT andVolunteering Partnership Agreement (VPA) at the State andNational level. This includes attending the following meetingsand activities:-• Working Group Meeting on the Voluntary PartnershipAgreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement, Governanceand Trade (FLEGT), 7 th March 2006• Regional Consultation on VPA of FLEGT, 3 rd April 2006• European Union Technical Mission on Forest LawEnforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), 4th May,2006• Preparatory Meeting on European Union Technical Missionon Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade(FLEGT), 4 th May, 2006• European Union-Forest Law Enforcement, Governance &Trade (EU-FLEGT) Technical Mission to <strong>Sabah</strong>, HQ SFD,8 th May 2006• Meeting between Malaysia, The European Commission& The Netherlands on a Potential Voluntary PartnershipAgreement (VPA) on FLEGT, 16 th May 2006• Joint Inter-Agency Meeting on the VPA on Forest LawEnforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), 13 th July2006• Internal Joint Inter-Agency Meeting on the VPA on ForestLaw Enforcement, Governance and Trade (FLEGT), 26 thJuly 2006• Meeting on the Draft Joint Statement on a VoluntaryPartnership agreement (VPA) on Forest Law Enforcement,Governance & Trade (FLEGT) between Malaysia & EU,14 th August 200685